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Sunday, December 20, 2009

It's the most wonderful time of the year...Wrestling Season! Yep, the season has barely begun, and I already have some terrific shots of Brian. Since I only started scrapbooking a few years ago, I have a ton of pictures from his earlier tournaments that I never scrapped, so I thought it was time for a layout with a little perspective. I like to hide my journaling, so the picture in the upper left actually flips up and offers plenty of room for comment!

Design-wise, I did a couple of things to make this layout work. The first was to print several of the pics in black & white...I actually even used Photoshop to make them a little "grainy"..because Westfield colors are gold and black and I think they were wrestling on red mats and one kid was in maroon and another was in red...bottom line, such a wide range of colors did not fit into my "vision". The earlier shots from 2005 when he was wrestling for SYA were in color, and they happened to coordinate with the paper..I also had some fun playing around with the title. One side of the background paper had the word "WRESTLING" printed on it. I cut the letters out and mixed them in with letters I cut in varying sizes with my Cricut (Opposites Attract cart). I also added Diamond Glaze to some of the letters for even more variety. I think it works well because it echoes the different types and sizes of fonts on the background paper..After the basic layout was completed, it was really simple to pepper in the coordinating word stickers (from Reminisce). I also added a die cut wrestler from my stash. A lot of the elements are "popped up" using a terrific idea from one of my friends on the Scrapbooks Plus Design Team. Erin Saravia recently shared that she uses leftover chipboard pieces when she wants to pop something up, instead of foam pop dots. Awesome tip from an awesome & talented lady!.You can thank the blizzard for this layout...not much else to do since it snowed for more than 24 hours and accumulated 2 to 3 feet of snow! Perfect scrapping weather! In fact, I may have to do another layout for my other son, Paul and his baseball season from last year...

Saturday, December 19, 2009

...deserves a special page to commemorate the event. This month's papers from SEI were perfect for the occasion!

Some of the packages are epoxy stickers from SEI, and some I actually trimmed out from the Christmas Tree paper - they would have been covered up by the embossed red velvet paper.

Serendipity played a part in the layout - do you notice how the largest branch of the tree connects to a swirl on the red velvet? Love it! I wish I could say I had planned it...

I was actually thinking about putting a picture in the oval element on the tree, when I realized I had picked up the perfect Santa sticker the last time I was at Scrapbooks Plus. I wasn't sure why I needed this sticker, I just knew it was beautiful. I am so glad I had it because it worked perfectly here!

I used my Cricut and the Design Studio Software to cut the title. The "S" and the swirl are from Storybook, but the rest of the letters are from Base Camp. The little dots on the letters in red and white are just little dots of acrylic paint. I applied them with the wrong end of the paintbrush - I used a toothpick for the tiny dots.

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This layout is kind of like a present, in that you have to open it to really appreciate it - surprise! You know I take tons of pictures. It is a very rare occurence for me to do a layout with only one photograph. I loved the series of Paul having his chat with Santa and had to include all 3. The only place I was able to include Brian was that shot of his back as he listens to a reading of the Grinch! I printed the journaling on vellum so I could still see the fancy foiled swirls. I added little bows tied with embroidery floss on the packages at the top...because too much is never enough!

For details on how to create the foldover page, check out my post at Scrapbooks Plus on Dec.23rd.Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Create a home decor item to use each month and then convert it to a 2 page scrapbook layout!

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The project this month is a flurry of snowflakes, trees and reindeer in traditional Christmas red & green - with just a touch of blue!

Delicate laser cut stickers and a silver tone charm add a touch of class.
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There are 12 new houses for newbies who would like to jump into the project. This is the last opportunity to obtain a house. (Each month, for the first 5 days of the class listing, priority registration will be given to the students with houses! Ask to be put on a waiting list if you are only interested in the layout, which is available for viewing at Scrapbooks Plus.)
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You will need to bring (2) vertical pics that can be cropped to approximately 3.5" x 6.25", and (4) horizontal wallets - do NOT crop them before the class please! Also bring the regular class kit, red line tape, dimensional glue dots, a ruler and pencil.
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Tuesday Dec .15/11a-3p OR Tuesday Dec. 22/6p-9p No kits.
Class size limited to 12. Contact Scrapbooks Plus to register.

Monday, December 7, 2009

I somehow did not get the November "In The House" posted last month! Must have been busy! Here is the class sample...I did not include pictures this time:

...and here is the way it will look once it comes down off the wall and you morph it into a layout!

Jerri sent me a photo of her finished project - she had to leave class early because her little girl was not feeling well. I think she did a great job!

Donna also had to leave before she was finished, but she had a good start on it!
You ladies all did a great job this month...there were a lot of techniques on this one: heat embossing, glittering, Pearl Ex, Cuttlebug embossing, edge punching & chalking!

Whew! I think that was all of them!

Here are some more pics from the class:

Thanks again for taking my class!

It really is such a fun group!

In December, the houses will be available again, so anybody who wants to jump into the project at this point can do so. There are a limited number of openings, so make sure you sign up early! Specify whether you need the house and the layout or, if you already have the house, if you just want to make the layout. Check the class schedule as I am offering a choice of a day or night class.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Paul's team won the county championship the first year he played 85lb National. He was such a force on the line that he was always getting double and triple teamed. By the end of the season, coach was just telling him to line up where ever he wanted to line up! I paired MME with the Athlete papers from Teresa Collins. Love it!